High schools: Westerville sports cuts could hurt foes, too

The uncertainty shrouding sports in Westerville schools has crept beyond the district and even outside central Ohio.

Collin Binkley, The Columbus Dispatch

The uncertainty shrouding sports in Westerville schools has crept beyond the district and even outside central Ohio.

Teams that had planned to play Westerville schools next academic year might not know whether they will have an opponent until Westerville voters vote on a March levy. Beyond scheduling problems, losing games would also affect ticket sales that help pay for their athletic programs.

The Westerville school board will vote tonight on a plan that would eliminate funding for all sports teams. The change is among $23?million the district says needs to be cut after voters turned down a tax request in November.

Board members have said some cuts could be restored if voters approve a levy in March, but they haven’t said whether it could save athletics.

Schools scheduled to play Westerville are watching and waiting, officials said, but March likely would be too late for some to find new opponents for fall sports.

“It’s a scary, frustrating situation for all the teams in the league,” said Vince Trombetti, football coach at Worthington Kilbourne. “We can’t do anything until Westerville decides.”

The football team at Northmont, near Dayton, made backup plans with another school in case Westerville South can’t field a team for their Aug.?31 game, said Robin Spiller, Northmont’s athletic director.

“We’re trying to decide whether or not to be patient with them,” she said. “We can’t have an open date.”

Removing a game from the season can mean lost revenue, if it’s a home game, and one fewer opportunity for a victory that could boost a team’s playoff stock. The problem is compounded because all three Westerville high schools are in the same division of the Ohio Capital Conference, said league commissioner Dave Cecutti.

Teams like Northmont, which is in another league, would typically play one Westerville team in a season. Other schools in the division housing Westerville schools, by contrast, would be left with only four possible division opponents to play seven weeks of football.

“You know you have to have so many wins, and then those wins have to be over a certain quality of opponent,” said Mark Hundley, football coach at Dublin Jerome. “That makes the picture just as scary as it can be.”

League officials are trying to allay those concerns by preparing backup plans. Teams in Westerville’s division could play one another multiple times, they could play teams in other divisions or other teams could join the division.

But because Westerville’s three high schools would leave an odd-numbered gap, one team a week would be left in the cold, said Cal Adams, a league scheduler.

League officials have not voted on any plans.

At the same time, parents and athletic officials in Westerville are trying to find their own solution. A committee assembled by the superintendent is working on a plan to pay for sports without district money. That would likely require higher pay-to-play fees and broader fundraising, said Scott Reeves, executive director of secondary academic affairs for the district.

The dilemma has affected the OCC before. In 2009, South-Western schools cut their sports programs after voters said no to a levy.

That problem was easier to solve, Adams said, because the district had an even number of high schools that were spread out among divisions. Cecutti said that teams sympathize with the Westerville schools.

“It’s a tough situation and we feel for them,” he said. “All of our districts are one foot away from being in the same situation.”